Botwell House Catholic Primary School Nursery

Daisies gives Botwell House’s nursery its own identity within this Catholic primary school in Hayes. A nursery teacher leads a team of support staff, while an assistant headteacher has responsibility for early years education and phonics. The school shares its site with the parish church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, placing the nursery within a clearly Catholic setting.

The September 2026 nursery intake covers children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. Morning and afternoon sessions each provide a three-hour block.

Language, movement and relationships sit alongside early literacy and mathematics in the nursery’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. Its learning areas also include creative expression and understanding the world. For parents, that means the curriculum reaches beyond beginning to read: physical development and learning to relate to other people have their own place.

Read Write Inc is the named literacy approach used in early years. Children work with letter sounds and learn how to combine them into words, connecting early reading with writing. The early years programme includes daily phonics, giving this learning a regular place in the day.

In October 2023, Ofsted found that children in early years enjoyed selecting books from classroom reading areas. Those spaces give children a chance to make their own reading choices alongside the structured literacy programme.

Knowing the family is part of understanding the child. The October 2023 inspection identified that relationships with early years children and their families helped staff recognise individual needs. That matters for children whose support needs become apparent as they begin nursery.

Across the school, the Inclusion Manager and Special Educational Needs Coordinator oversee support for additional learning needs. Children receiving SEN Support have measurable targets, reviewed each term with staff, parents and pupils. External services include Speech & Language Therapy, Educational Psychology and Occupational Therapy. These provide routes to specialist advice when classroom support needs reinforcement.

Safeguarding training for staff and volunteers is refreshed annually, with specialist training for those holding designated responsibilities. First aid cover extends to the school premises and school visits. These are school-wide arrangements that also provide the context for nursery care.

Attending Botwell House’s nursery does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. The application route uses the Common Application Form supplied by the local authority where the family lives.

The school also requires its Supplementary Information Form and relevant supporting paperwork. Families claiming Catholic practice priority must provide a Certificate of Catholic Practice dated within one year of admission. Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as separate decisions.

Morning sessions run from 8:30am to 11:30am; afternoons run from 12:15pm to 3:15pm. Afternoon collection can begin at 3:00pm to help families coordinate with siblings. Additional nursery provision is offered to eligible families, with the nursery teacher as the contact for that arrangement.

For nursery enquiries, email admissions@botwellhouse.school or telephone 0208 573 2229. Nursery application forms must be completed and returned to the school office.

Collection needs an older family member or carer: anyone under 16 is prohibited from collecting children. A child who is late must attend the main office with a parent or carer and sign in. Both rules affect the practical organisation of the nursery session.